Suit of the Week: Halogen

For busy working women, the suit is often the easiest outfit to throw on in the morning. In general, this feature is not about interview suits for women, which should be as classic and basic as you get — instead, this feature is about the slightly different suit that is fashionable, yet professional.

Happy Wednesday! I’m liking this lovely textured suit from Halogen, which looks fashionable but classic at the same time. I like that it’s super affordable and comes in regular and petitesizes. I like the care instructions, too — although I normally do prefer to dry clean my suits, it’s nice to know that the instructions here are to “dry clean,” not “dry clean only.” The jacket (Diamond Stretch Peplum Jacket) is $138, the pants (Quinn Diamond Stretch Pants) are $88, and the skirt (Diamond Stretch Suit Skirt) is $68. It’s nice that all three pieces come in sizes 0-16.

I’m a bit annoyed on the readers’ behalf that I can’t find a similar suit for plus sizes. A muted color, an interesting texture, flattering details — are we asking too much? Here’s one Le Suit option with a slightly interesting fabric, a Mynt 1792 blazer with some interesting details, and — not textured at all, but looks lovely — a simple black Talbots suit (also available in women’s petites).

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(Incidentally: if you’re interested in more plus-size content from Corporette, please sign up for our new newsletter — thank you!)

Threadjack: I did a search and only found a few hits of “executive presence” and thissite. What defines executive presence to you – body language, appearance, etc.? What tips have you seen for cultivating it? I don’t have any female role models at my company – I’m one of the two most senior women. I’ll start: Amy Cuddy’s power pose has been helpful for instilling a sense of control before recent meetings.

This maybe where you got the question but it is discussed briefly on Ask A Manager today. (LW was told to stop putting her feet on the desk because it took away from her “executive presence.” Other commenters said “executive presence” is code for “white, upper class, male.”

+1 to not putting your feet upon your desk. It doesn’t matter how long the conference call is – you aren’t at home.

Executive Presence, to me, is an overall presence that is cool, calm, and commanding. Strong public speaking skills. Appropriate attire always (fits well, the correct level of formality, a hairstyle that is deliberate not “I’m weeks overdue for a cut and lost my brush”). Calm in the face of chaos and stress. Knowledgeable but not a know-it-all.

For me, executive presence is something that comes from within. Like when someone comes into a room and is there to wrangle the crowd to do something. It’s confidence, an agenda, an attitude of “this is what is going to happen, and this is how it is going to happen, and the buck stops with me.”

While it helps to have the non-disheveled hair, polish, attire, those are secondary to the initial “kabow” I think. E.g. Steve Jobs pulled it off in dark jeans and black T shirt. Cf. The “mad scientist.”

Maybe growing up a minority female in several different countries and also in a place where the “minority” is the majority, I do not buy into the idea that it is code of “white, upper class, and male.”

The discussion on that topic on the other webpage was when someone says “yeah, I like coworker but she is just lacking that “executive presence.”” That people use the term as an excuse to discriminate. I have certainly seen people who are not white, upper class or male project what I consider to be executive presence.

Grr, my comment got eaten. It was about “executive presence” – how do you all define it? What tips do you have for cultivating it? I’m one of two senior women at my (very dysfunctional) workplace, in a visible role, and I think developing more of this could help.

The coffee at my new job is TERRIBLE. I’m not really a coffee drinker, but sometimes I need it (3x a week maybe??). Is there a good coffee appliance that you all would suggest for my desk? I would want something that isn’t too disruptive.

I use a pour-over cup and cannot recommend it enough. It is more convenient than French Press because the grounds are discarded in a filter, so there is less mess. The quality of the drink is comparable IMO. You can read about the pour-over method on the internet.
I bought my cup for $5 at World Market. It goes over your regular coffee cup.
Of course, you need hot water for this method, so I have a small kettle in my office as well.

I have a [email protected] & [email protected] one, it’s called “Single Serve Switch Coffeemaker”. I think you can buy K-cup like pods or just add grounds to the filter basket directly (what I do). I just fill it with tap water from the office kitchen. It came with a travel mug, but I think you could use any travel mug. It doesn’t have any bells and whistles, but for $16 it is working nicely. It’s not very loud, which I like – I don’t want to announce it to the whole office any time I make coffee.

I have a Keurig at home. I hate the taste of the coffee it makes and I don’t like paying for the cups. I have a re-usable cup for it, but I find it annoying to use. I like the B&D one I bought for my office better.

Job search threadjack. I left a BigLaw position a year ago due to burnout and joined a small firm. What a mistake. What BigLaw couldn’t do, small firm nepotism did: I am clinically depressed and anxious in ways that can’t be addressed by talk therapy and CBT. Thank goodness for pharmaceuticals.

Ideally, I want to find an in-house job in my specialty. I’ve been applying and networking but these jobs are very competitive and the hiring cycle is in off-season until January. I’ve been told to expect to job search for 1-3 years for the kind of position I want.

I think I can last in my current job for about 6 more months before I lose it. But, if I need to move faster, I do have 3 leads on returning to a law firm (including my previous firm). Business is booming in my specialty and I am experienced enough to be paid on a percentage of my billings.

What would you do? Stay in the small firm for the duration of my job search (through the next hiring cycle)? Or, jump ship to another firm ASAP and continue looking for the kind of position I want (even if it means leaving in less than 6 months)?

I agree. Jump ship or get MARRIED and jump ship to become a SAHM, like I want to do. But you must FIRST find a rich boyfreind willing to MARRY you and have kid’s NOW. But strike now, while your still young b/c if you wait until you are over 33, you will have a HARD time. FOOEY!

If you really hate your current work environment, leave. If you could be searching 1-3 years for an in-house position, it will be better to do that from a job that you’re not desperate to get away from and isn’t causing or worsening your clinical depression.

Tell me more about the “mistake.” I’m feeling awfully burned out myself, but I worry that the issue is with litigation itself, not with my particular firm. Is that what happened to you? My DH is convinced that I’m going to run to a small firm or in-house job and just have the same exhaustion.

Well, it is mostly my boss who is treating me like a newbie lawyer and denigrates my experience and skills. In my BigLaw office (which is highly ranked nationally in my specialty), I was well respected (one of the few associates who could approve work before sending out to clients or filing with government agencies) and trained many of the newbies myself. Now, I can’t seem to get the simplest task done on budget and without 5 rounds of revisions. Ugh.

Hundreds of people have died. One of those in an isolation unit in the US with the best of care. Most of those with no care under horrific circumstances. I’m sure you’re not the only one, but this isn’t a risk to you and making this your personal crisis of the day is ignorant and tone deaf.

I’ve been freaking out since it arrived here, which the CDC said it never would. His death doesn’t seem that unexpected though. It’s a very deadly disease and he got the experimental treatment fairly late.

There is a big difference between random person in America catching Ebola with no idea how they got it and a person who came from Liberia and handled Ebola patients there catching it. To me, this person catching it and dying is equivalent to someone that remained in Liberia catching it and dying. It doesn’t mean it went airborne. I’m concerned with the hospital that dropped the ball on his diagnosis and treatment and I’m concerned with how long it took them to get him the experimental drug but I’m not concerned I’m going to catch Ebola.

I will add though that I have a family friend working in Liberia who I will be seeing at a US destination wedding in a few months. I’m a little more concerned about being around him (and likely sharing a house with him) after he has flown back from Liberia. That said, I’ll avoid coming in contact with his bodily fluids and I should be fine. He is not there working w/ patients.

I agree. As a fellow Blond Lawyer, I say to stay away from all bodily fluid’s of peeople you do NOT know. My dad is a big proponent of the “TRUST BUT VERIFY”. In this context, do NOT trust, but make sure they are tested for EVERYTHING before allowing them to share bodily fluid’s with you. FOOEY!

I’m generally NOT worried about CATCHING Ebola. I wrote the follow up to empathize with the OP. I AM worried about all of the people suffering and dying from Ebola elsewhere. I very much know it is not about me and I don’t give it much thought regarding my personal health, which is what the question was about. Are you saying that if you were going to be around someone who was just in a country impacted by Ebola that you wouldn’t think about it, just for a second? I’m in no way freaking out about it. It just crossed my mind and I moved on.

Also, wasn’t the question “are you worried about catching Ebola?” The question was about how it impacts you. I am an agreement with you that the crisis is not about me. The question, and therefore my answer, was about me.

I listen to the podcast version of Morning Joe every day and Joe Scarborough has basically been insinuating that ebola must spread in some way other than the scientists are telling us. It is driving me absolutely crazy.

On the other hand, the coverage of that respiratory infection affecting children seems to have been pretty good. It seems like a bunch of my friends with kids have gone through some sort of respiratory illness this year although it isn’t clear whether it was the same one.

Good to know! These seemed to be really bad cases that involved some breathing apparatus thingy so I thought they might be related. But it probably is being blown out of proportion by the news (although not as badly as ebola in the US).

And I wasn’t disagreeing with you – I think the coverage of enterovirus has been pretty good. It’s fairly measured (compared to Ebola) and more informative than anything. I live in Dallas and I am WAY more concerned about my kids getting enterovirus than I am about Ebola. We’ve used the nebulizer (probably what you’re referring to) before with my oldest son when he had a horrible upper respiratory infection.

Hypothetically, let’s say you have a nanny from one of the three countries. Her family is in that country while she works here. People travel and all that. Would you all inquire or ask her to tell you if she comes into contact with anyone who has travelled from there, since a nanny will have contact with your family members (by virtue of the work itself)?

This is obnoxious. Its not a black thing. While you are only at risk if you come into contact with someone sick, it is more than a remote chance that one of her family members or friends could be sick, travel here and come into contact with her.

I’m sorry. To make it out that the OP is somehow racist is awful. Its a valid concern. Now, if the nanny is Jamaican, then yes, its not okay to ask. But, if she’s FROM the country where THOUSANDS of people are sick.

Yes. I would. It may not be the most PC question, but given that its your children and how the disease is transmitted (caring for people), I would.

I would phrase it in a way that, first and foremost, extremely sympathetic to the fact that it is her neighbors and countrymen that are suffering terribly from this and then I would say something like, “of course, given how awful this is, I’m sure you would let me know if anyone from Home Country was visiting you here in the US.”

I disagree–I don’t think it could be brought “casually” into a conversation. The issue is too obvious and the nanny (or whomever) will know exactly what you’re doing. If I were in her shoes, offended or not, I would feel more respected if you just asked directly.

Yes, sorry, I meant ask about her and her family’s exposure mostly as a way of expressing genuine concern. I would imagine for someone so intimately involved in your life, this would be a conversation that would happen naturally since she’s someone you care about. As a small bonus, it would have the side benefit of letting you better away your concerns.

If you are, you’re being very, very silly. Save your worry for the people in West Africa who will die in miserable conditions and be thankful you live in the first world. Maybe even donate some money. To get a grip on yourself, maybe read a sobering NYT article called “Hospital from Hell” published a few days ago.

The description of the dying little girl being sprayed with chlorine by a body collector will probably make you realize how silly you’re being.

Read up on how the disease is transmitted. Link to follow. If it doesn’t work, google “NPR, how serious is ebola?”

Not freaking out about it but willing to bet the surviving partner is going to sue the hospital. Just read the article on CNN where she says she – through her publicist – wants “justice” whatever that means.

Is it, though? I agree with your point, but I don’t think it is absurd to say that the failure to communicate his travel history and/or failure to keep him when they knew he traveled from Liberia could constitute negligence.

That’s not the standard for medical malpractice though. I’m not at all convinced earlier treatment would have done anything, and concealing that he had contact with an Ebola victim is certainly contributory negligence, but failure to make the diagnosis might be actionable.

Apparently he did not conceal that he had contact with an Ebola victim; he thought the victim was dying from pregnancy complications, not Ebola. I think the hospital should have been more careful with a patient who said he was coming froma country ravaged by Ebola and exhibiting symptoms of the disease.

I don’t think it’s as shocking/offensive/dumb to be worried about a disease as terrible as ebola as others seem to. Yes, it is unlikely you will contract it. That doesn’t mean you must refrain from being afraid of it. People are irrationally afraid of all kinds of things.

I think it’s both tone deaf and ignorant to be “freaking out” over a disease that you have virtually NO chance of catching when thousands of people are suffering and dying in squalid conditions. You don’t freak out about getting stabbed by a needle and getting HIV, right? Would it seem tone deaf to comment on an article about the AIDs crisis in West Africa that you were “freaked out” about getting HIV from a needle stab, too? Yeah.

If people would take five minutes to read up on the disease transmission process, they could soothe their angst.

Why is she “tone deaf” or “ignorant” for saying she is afraid of it? Her fear of it is not mutually exclusive of any feeling of empathy towards those in West Africa who are suffering and dying from it. She could be fully informed about the likelihood of catching it, and still be afraid. Some people are afraid of dying in a plane crash, even though know how unlikely that is. And no one tells those people they’re being “tone deaf” about other plane crash victims.

Really? She’s tone deaf and ignorant because the chances of her getting struck by lightening is higher! Technically, no, her “fear” and feelings of empathy are not mutually exclusive, but it just reeks of privilege and vanity and self-centeredness to sit there and freak out over the infinitesimal chance that she could get ebola when she should know there’s no rational reason to be afraid because someone *here* has died.

” She could be fully informed about the likelihood of catching it, and still be afraid”

That seems implausible. R0 anyone? Anyone? Right now, there is no known ebola in the US because that man passed away. Within 21 days, we will know whether he infected anyone else.

And I would totally tell someone to stop freaking out about their own fear of flying if said person was freaking out on say, 9/11/2001.

Look. People here are giving OP all the tools she needs to soothe her fear. If she’d like to continue to irrationally freak out, then she can knock herself out. But she didn’t say “hey you guys I have an irrational fear of ebola”.

“Your equation that fear of contracting ebola cannot equal empathy for others suffering from it is logically erroneous.”

That’s not what I said. Reading comprehension?

“Your equation that knowledge of likelihood of contraction cannot equal fear of contracting is also logically erroneous.”

This is *also* not what I said. I think it’s really cute that you have the nerve to call what I said “logically erroneous” when we’re discussing someone’s completely irrational (you even agreed that it was irrational!!!) fear of contracting EBOLA. Good god. Do you just want to pick a fight?

“The OP didn’t ask anyone to soothe her fears”

So are we to presume that she wants to *continue* to freak out? Or that she would rather lay her fears to rest? Many posters, including myself, told her “no, you are the only one freaking out over ebola” and gave her rational reasons to calm down. Yay! Problem solved for everyone! Unless, of course, OP doesn’t want to solve her fears and would rather continue to have this self-centered worry.

Dude, seriously, you “don’t have time to teach me logical syllogism”? Who the f*** do you think you are? You’ve obviously got a good amount of time on your hands to chase me around a message board to put words in my mouth.

“I also know that in order to say what you did say, one must assume the premises I gathered from my reading comprehension. ”

This is categorically false, which you would know, if you, um, read what I said. You’re way out of line here.

And I roll my eyes at people’s irrational fears about other things as well. The problem is that these irrational fears are exploited by politicians calling for closing borders and pundits worrying about weaponized Ebola , and it’s fairly plausible that our tax money will go towards idiotic unnecessary measures because of people’s irrational freakouts.

Jon Stewart’s recent bit on this issue was great– contrasting pundits’ irrational freak outs and calls for government action with the lackadaisical attitude many of same have towards things that ACTUALLY kill Americans.

Heart disease and obesity.

Mental illness.

Gun violence.

Car accidents.

I mean, come on. The hysteria is out of control. Faux news actually had an article designed to freak people out about the possibility of using ebola in bioterrism, hypothesizing exploding bags of vomit. *headdesk* This is all a distraction.

I agree with Unicorn on this. That the chances of contracting Ebola are slim, does not mean that I cannot be fearful of a disease for which there is no cure and which causes such a terribly painful death. My chances of dying in a plane accident are slim as well but my heart races with every landing.

I think this is the best point on this. Due to a weird series of events, my son had to have a rabies vaccination. I did a lot of research on the disease. It’s scary. There’s no cure, and, if you get it, you die a horrible death 100% (or 99.9%) of the time. But, my chances of getting it and my kids’ chances of getting it (even the chance that my son had contracted it) are very, very, very small. So I don’t “freak out” about it, even though it’s a scary disease.

Thank you. My sister actually had to get all the rabies shots after an encounter with a bat. We managed, but yes, in that scenario it is scary.

Real life example: yesterday, one of my cowokers began to have a brain bleed in the office. He’s in the hospital now. Apparently, those things can start spontaneously. I’m very afraid for him. I think it would be gauche as all get out for me to start freaking out that *I* might have a brain bleed while he’s in the ICU and his wife and daughter are terrified.

OK, now I will stop commenting on this thread, which I’m sure Unicorn will be super pleased about.

Diseases like Measles, Mumps, and Rubella are far more contagious than Ebola. And there are areas in LA that have lower vaccination rates than sub-Saharan Africa. They are real, and highly contagious, diseases that exist in the US and are increasing at alarming rates due to CRAZY people who don’t vaccinate their children and thus put other children and people at risk. THAT is what you should be freaking out about.

Yes, you are. The risk of infection for someone in the US is fairly low, and the chances of surviving it even if contracted are much higher for some in the US (or other developed nation).

If you want to freak out about something, freak out about the whooping cough outbreak in CA, where the vaccination rate is as bad as Africa due to anti-vaccination propaganda. And that’s not something that there is ANY treatment for. You just have to ride it out and hope you don’t break a rib coughing.

Or even an adult–whose vaccine was done in a year that the vaccines weren’t complete effective. I was sick for 3 months, was hospitalized, and was miserable. It was traced back to an area of Washington State where many stupid, selfish people don’t vaccinate their children.

I’ve got two Halogen suits — the basic black one (with the Quinn pants and pencil skirt) has been a real workhorse for me, and I just bought the navy a few months ago. I don’t think they look cheap at all, and they travel fairly well, too — modest wrinkling will steam out in the shower.

I like the Quinn fit – I’m a 5’5″ hour-glassy 12 or 14 but with an increasingly thick midsection (thanks, stress and menopause!) ; the Halogen Taylor fit looks horrible on me but the 14P in the Quinn pants fit like a glove.

I do find that the Halogen jackets run a bit small in the chest, so I size up.

A minor-related TJ (sorry, I have no feedback on your question): Do people think these are appropriate for non-casual business wear?

I keep seeing these recommended for flats, but I find them to be WAY more casual than pumps thanks to the bow and honestly would never wear them except on casual Fridays. The bow just automatically makes them too “girly” for me.

I have the leather, they fit TTS. You can customize your width which may change your size.

I always wear it with bare feet. I also don’t know if it’s because I haven’t quite broken mine in, but they tore up my heels when I wore them from 8-6PM one day for a court thing. (subway downtown, then wandering around courthouse, then subway and walk back to work), so they’re not the most comfortable for all day wear, but are more comfortable than stilletos and perfect for quick appearances/events when you want a nicer shoe.

The patents seem to run a half size bigger on me. No toe cleavage at all. They are comfortable and clearly well made, but I wish they had more padding on the sole, esp for the ball of the foot. I wear them w and w/o hose. I wear a wide, so no help on the narrow heel.

I was so excited to get these last year during the Nord strom Anniversary Sale, but I tried 6 different pairs in a combination of sizes (6, 6.5) and patent vs leather, and they just didn’t feel comfortable. I couldn’t get a good fit. I am a size 6 about 90% of the time with short toes, normal to wide-ish forefot, flat feet – fussy about shoes and had pinned my fashion hopes on the Varas. I was disappointed to say the least. I am thrilled to have found the AGL Snaffle pump. Comfortable from the beginning and I wore them for the first time for a marathon big-city trip with lots of walking and standing. No nearly as adorable or classic as the Varas, but a good fit for me and nice enough that I feel like I’m actually dressed up, as opposed to sort of wondering if I look too informal in my usual flats (also AGL and I love them but still flats).

Anyway. Good luck to you with the Varas….I’m going to be jealous but happy if they work out for you!

I would be sure to get the style with leather soles. Ferragamo recently started making shoes with man-made soles, while still charging leather prices. Leather is better for your feet, as it breathes (no stinky, sweaty feet!), and breaks in with use.

I love this suit–especially the texture of the fabric. What a nice touch! The pieces look classic and non-suit-ish enough that they will do well as separates. I also like that the jacket is a little different. I’m not a big fan of the peplum, but it seems to work here, as it’s not overdone. But it reminds me of a smoking jacket, or a dinner jacket, but not in a bad way.

Last year, I found a teal velvet Halogen blazer in my goodwill. It is true-to-size, and actually survived my washing machine (I was too cheap to pay for dry-cleaning, and I always always wash before wearing anything).

Anyone have a good career for a high school girl to consider? My daughter is very good at math (she really likes geometry) but especially likes reading and writing. She’s young to choose a career, obviously, but DH and I are both in law and I’d like to give her some other options to ponder as she makes her way through school.

Does the school do a career day of any kind? Any opportunity for her to engage with other careers that way?

That being said, finance is a great industry. I was very similar – great a math, didn’t particularly enjoy it, but was a great writer. To me “business” meant numbers all day long and I never gave it the time of day until well after I had my college degree. I wish I had been exposed to it sooner so that I had been able to take advantage of undergraduate coursework and internships. Specifically, I’m in real estate and when we hire we look for reading/writing/communication skills first, and then the math. We tell stories in writing about the real estate in each deal, about the markets, etc. – the numbers just supplement the story.

Patent law, although that may be on your radar already. It’s relatively more stable than traditional legal market and is well paid– hard to find people with solid background in physical sci/engineering AND with the reading and writing abilities required to get through law school.

Just be sure she ends up with an engineering degree or a Ph.D. in anything else science in order to be viable. But only if she’s already inclined that way. So, she’s looking any 8 – 10 years of graduate work.

As someone who has the science and law background, I hated patent law. Went regulatory instead.

Nope. Not patent law. Please not patent law. It is completely commoditized and price pressures are a huge issue. It is hard to bill many of the hours worked and the tiny budgets can be eaten by other lawyers and support staff. The Alice and Mayo decisions are scary for long career prospects.

I work in government, doing public finance and budgeting. It’s actually really cool- they let me budget billions of dollars, help make laws, and try and basically predict the future.

(Note: I use many tools to try and forecast as best as possible; however, you’d be absolutely shocked at how often we just have to make an educated guess and/or go with a number someone once said it could *maybe* be.)

+1 Seriously. Anything she wants, from the sound of it. Geologist, lab tech, architect, agronomist, accountant, electrician… I didn’t pick a major until after my sophomore year of college, and I turned out fine. Give her a break!

But I’m going to assume that what you meant was what off-beat careers that aren’t totally obvious should she consider, so I’ll put out a plug for epidemiologist. The work is cool, the people are cool, it requires math (logic, really) and reading/writing ability, and most people have never heard of it.

She doesn’t! But she’s been asking me, out of curiosity and wondering what non-lawyer options exist. There’s no career day at school, so mostly kids around here are exposed to what their parents do. So I’m just looking for some things to toss out there. Obviously I don’t expect her to choose a career any time soon. She’s a great kid and I’m sure she’ll turn out fine and I assure you I am not pressuring her on choosing a career. Thanks to all for the ideas!

I think its a great question! I always planned to go to law school but I really had no idea what kind of options were out there for careers when I was her age or in college. It seemed like doctor, lawyer, engineer, or amorphous office administration position were the only options. The career fair at my university pretty much consisted of insurance and pharmaceutical sales companies. There are so many career options out there that would have been so helpful to know about.

If she likes the spacial aspects of geometry, mechanical engineering or architecture could be a good fit. I personally enjoyed engineering because its basically math applied to sciences. If it’s more the logic of figuring out proofs, she might enjoy computer science or accounting. Or philosophy or music – no reason she has yo limit herself to STEM

+1
I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up but I am grateful that I chose a major that is so flexible in terms of careers or industries I can pursue. I have stayed mostly technical so far but I have friends who majored in engineering who are in finance, business, etc. I didn’t really know what engineering was in high school but I liked math and science so I chose a university that had a strong engineering program but was not just a technical school and had other great programs. I ended up staying in engineering but it was nice to know I had other options if it turned out to not be for me. You didn’t ask about college applications but if your daughter is interested but not 100% sure about going into a STEM field, it’s something to consider.

Yes – if she likes math, specifically calculus and statistics, an actuarial career is a great idea. However, don’t just take an Actuarial Science major in college; many of the programs produce actuaries who can execute but don’t really get the theory behind what they’re doing. Math majors, with their combination of theory and application, are often much more prepared for a high-level actuarial career.

Don’t rule out the idea of her eventually being a professor if she really loves math or a math-related STEM field. Women are underrepresented in STEM generally, but I feel like there’s more of a push to introduce girls to engineering and finance and other corporate careers (maybe partly because companies in those fields want to increase their diversity?) and there are almost no resources for encouraging girls to go into research and academia in scientific fields.

Does she like sciences? Make sure she takes physics and chemistry in high school so she does not cut herself off from technical specialties in college. Besides, the more things she tries now, the more food for thought she’ll have when choosing her career.
She also should try robotics and programming, as a class in school, a club or extracurricular.

How does she feel about technology, and does she like problem solving? I was never a computer geek type, but I did enjoy figuring out how to use technology to make my life easier. History, reading, and writing were my favorite things; although I was good at math, I didn’t love it. I ended up majoring in Information Technology and took a more business/strategy path and less of a techie path. I’ve held positions as a business analyst and project manager before I moved into a more strategic role.

If she already took the PSAT, she should sign up for an account on CollegeBoard’s MyRoad. There are a few career quizzes she can take that ask her questions about her personality and preferences for things, and you can also just browse career options. Obviously it’s not a comprehensive list of careers, but it’s a good start, and for each type of career it talks about the type of education often required to go into the field.

CollegeBoard also has a separate site for careers I believe – tailored to high school students – called Big Future that she can perhaps try out. But if she has taken the PSAT already, I highly recommend MyRoad.

For the lawyers in the group: what’s your caseload? Me: currently handling 20 active cases and assigned to draft pleadings, motions, conduct research on another 4 or so additional matters on an as needed basis (at least once or twice monthly). No support staff and lots of concurrent deadlines.

On a related note, any case management tips for ensuring cases don’t fall through the cracks? I find that followup.cc is handy for sending myself email reminders when a deadline is approaching. I have the free membership. There’s confidentiality issues to keep in mind as the content of the reminder but so far it’s proven to be helpful.

I like to keep a chart open with all the case names and to-dos. Whenever I do anything that requires follow-up, I put it in the chart. Once or twice a week, I print the chart and go over each case to make sure there’s nothing I’ve missed. I have about 40 open cases.

Roughly 100, mixed state and federal. About 75 of those are civil defense where I’m the lead attorney. My secretary does make copies and put things in the mail, but the rest is me. I’m the most junior in my office, so there is no one else to do things for me! I take time each morning to review what is coming up in the next two weeks, and I also do a full review of my active files every three weeks to make sure I’m not missing anything. I set reminders in my calendar for two days before anything is due and as a rule I don’t snooze them for more than four hours unless I’m in hearings that day. I also don’t leave the office until I’ve prepared most of what I know needs to get filed the next day, even though that means I have some late nights. I hope my office becomes better staffed sometime soon.

Related threadjack: I’m barely a 2nd year, and I feel like I’m barely keeping my head above water with ~8 smaller cases where it’s just me and 1 supervising partner (so I’m doing all the research, filing, drafting, calendaring, and a lot of the direct communication w opposing counsel & client). Plus ~5 cases where things only pop up once in awhile, and one major case that occasionally engulfs all my time for a couple weeks. Is this normal, or a lot? I sometimes feel that too much is being asked of me but mostly am happy that I’m entrusted with this caseload. Perspective check?

I was wondering if any shorter women (I’m around 5 feet) had experience with Duo boots. I have problems with tall boots hitting me at a weird spot because of how short I am, but I am thinking maybe the custom calf widths might help. Thanks!

My friend who is 5’2” sought out Duo for the same reason, but didn’t love the result (though I don’t think it was because of the shaft height), so returned them. If you have an idea of the boot shaft height that works for you, I believe you can search by shaft height on Zappos.

I am 5’2″ and bought a pair of Duo boots at the store in London. LOVE them. They are the Beech style — they hit at perfect spot for me. I also have larger calves and had trouble finding boots I really loved.

How much can you buy stuff and return it without it being a problem/ being a “problem returner”? I’ve started to buy everything online and just send back what doesn’t fit or look quite right. I end up returning a lot. Don’t other people do this too?

I do this – I do almost all shopping for clothing online. If I’ve been flagged by a company, I have no idea because I still get the same number of offers/discounts/etc. that I always have. I do try to return things as promptly as possible so that I don’t have ask for exceptions.

I buy almost all of my clothes online and return a lot and it has never been an issue. I’ve started to have trouble with my Target returns using their online system but a phone call has fixed the issue both times. I haven’t had any problems with any other stores and I’m not sure whether my Target problem is anything more than a technical glitch.

I buy 90% of my clothes online and return a lot of things via mail or to the store. My clothes always have the original tags on them and I always have the receipt, so I’ve never had a problem. I do wonder if stores will “flag me” for being a chronic returner but I haven’t encountered any issues yet.

Probably too late for you to see this, but it’s an enormous issue at LOFT and sometimes Ann Taylor. They scan your drivers license when you return to track shopping habits. I was buying all sorts of stuff before my wedding a few months back.. trying to find stuff for the honeymoon, etc. They shut me off and said I couldn’t return anything for 90 days. Their return policy says (at least, said..) nothing about scanning a license, etc, so I reported them to the BBB and eventually got the restriction lifted and basically got them to admit I was right.

We’re talking a couple hundred (~$500) worth of online purchases that I returned in stores. I kept a ton, but returned more… I was floored at the insanely hard time I was given. I was a loyal customer with an AT card. Since the fight, I hardly shop there any more and closed my card. Forget that – I shop online because I’m a working professional woman (don’t they market directly to me?!) and do not have time to try on/go into stores, or play their sale games they have (full price today; 40% off if you run into the store before noon tomorrow!). If it’s on sale, online, I will order it, hope I like it/it fits, and if not, I return it.

Ive had terrible experiences with AT. One time I bought a bathing suit final sale, the top and bottom. When they shipped out, they said the top wasn’t available anymore, and still wouldn’t let me return the bottom. and just so rude about the whole issue.

I do a ton of catch-and-release from Loft and have never had a problem returning anything. I’m on the cusp of regular/petite so I usually order everything in regular and petite, in at least 2 different sizes. I’ve had many orders where I’ve returned the majority, if not all, of what I ordered.